Outcomes of the workshop

Around 25 delegates from 17 institutes/companies (UK, China and Hungary) attended the workshop on pyrolysis and gasification of wastes and biomass in Hull. The delegates gave presentations covering fundamental catalysis, flexible process development, microwave pyrolysis, overview of industrial deployment in China, details of designing small-scale gasification system, molecular modelling and CFD modelling, and different applications of the products from pyrolysis/gasification of biomass and wastes. Ideas and knowledge have been intensively exchanged. Opportunities, challenges and solutions of gasification and pyrolysis have been discussed in three groups and presented. The results of group discussions are summarized as follows:

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Opportunities of pyrolysis and gasification of wastes and biomass

Limited places for landfill

Improve the efficiency of raw materials uses

Extract values from wastes

Make profits from wastes

Not too many opportunities about MSW pyrolysis

Pyrolysis of biomass and MSW gasification are promising in future

Climate change is a big drive for pyrolysis and gasification

Better infrastructure of power and heat generation make gasification more promising

Gasification has long history

Gasification technology is more flexible, can produce syngas for the generation of heat, power and chemicals

Producing high value chemicals from pyrolysis of specific wastes could be promising

Bio-char has many applications

Gasification can produce hydrogen for future clean energy system

Challenges of pyrolysis and gasification of wastes and biomass

Policy stability

High capital costs for large-scale plant

Low economic profits

Technologies not mature

Investors are not confident in the technologies

Public perception issues, in particular about using MSW

Knowledge about successful or failed projects are not well shared

Pyrolysis and gasification have higher requirements for feedstock properties compared to incineration

Scaling up too early

Tar problem for gasification

Low power density

Resistance to new ideas/technologies

Sizing problem

Cheap nature gas prohibits the development of pyrolysis and gasification